Leave it to the Youngest
by Kimharu
Summary: Sometimes you gotta trust the younger ones, even if they're the youngest.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys so this is my second Thunderbird fiction. I gotta make it clear that all of my Thunderbird stories are going to be somewhere between the old Thunderbird series and the news ones. I prefer the characters from the old series but I love the technologies from the new series. I might throw in a few issues from the movie as well. Another thing is, I still see Gordon as the red-haired and John as a blonde because I just find them perfect that way. Oh and I like to make Alan and Gordon's age a bit closer I hope you guys wouldn't mind it. Anyways, enjoy and drop your reviews okay!**

 **Love,**

 **Haru**

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

"How much time do we have left Scott?"

Gordon wiped the sweat that was starting to drop off his forehead. He looked down at his hands and could see the burns and cuts through his ripped gloves. There were starting to sting a little, but it was only natural. He had been running around the area digging, shoveling and removing flames with the water sprayer (Brains had invented to make their work easier) all day. This particular rescue was nothing but easy. Especially when they had to deal with a temperature close to that of a stove. Gordon could have sworn he felt like he was literally being cooked alive. He couldn't wait to get home.

"About 30 minutes left." Scott replied. Gordon could hear the urgency in his eldest brother's voice from his watch. He knew that they had to work faster and get the hell out of the area. Not that he has any complains about it.

"Have we evacuated everyone yet? Cuz I don't know about you, but I'm sick of getting fried like a chicken out here Scotty." Gordon asked as he looked around his surroundings. He could see that the flames were starting to die down but the temperature remained high. He found it ironic how they were putting a lot of effort to control the flames but because they were in an area that was located near an active volcano mountain, the effort seemed so worthless. Everything felt like there were on fire. From the crook of his neck to the air he sucked in, it was...awful. He let out a long heave of sigh.

"Alan's bringing the last group in about 2 minutes from the cave." Scott informed him. Then Virgil and I will take them to the nearest hospital while you, John and Alan will secure the area and make everything's okay. We'll pick you up right afterwards."

"Remind me again why we need to use both Thunderbirds to the hospital?" Gordon asked. He wasn't a fan of the idea of having to wait for his brothers to return and pick him up.

"Because." Scott sighed exasperatedly. There was almost a hint of annoyance in his tone at having to explain everything all over again to his younger brother. "There are over 200 mine workers we just evacuated and even though that ugly green bug of Virgil is enormous, she won't be able to carry all of the workers by herself and since we don't have much time before this mountain decides to vomit it's flames for the second time and there are a lot of injured workers in need of immediate medical assistant, that we CAN'T afford two trips, my precious 'Bird' is needed." Scott finished with a snort.

"Right." Gordon ran his hands through his face. "Now I remember."

"Good. Cuz the next time you decide to forget and make me repeat myself I will drain your pool. Scott's out." Gordon merely shrugged and rolled his eyes even though Scott couldn't see it.

From a distance, he could see Virgil transferring the mine workers into Thunderbird 2 with John helping him. At times like this he was thankful that John was here. It just so happen that Brains was up in Thunderbird 5 because he wanted to install a few modifications in the space station, that one of the hardest rescue they had to perform came. It was not that the four of them were incapable of handling the rescue- they had done it plenty times as proofs- but it was nice to have all of his brothers here to lend a hand when their emotions are running up high with this sort of rescue. They know and understand each other well enough to know what to say or do and how to calm each other down when needed. More importantly, they know how to work well with each other and get the job done fast.

TBTBTBTBTBTB

"Okay Virge, you can lift him up now." John called out to his younger brother as soon as he finished securing the stretcher to the harness.

"FAB John." Virgil replied and started the motor. Soon, the injured mine worker was secured in Thunderbird's 2 med-bay.

"Thun-thunderbird 5 to-to Thunderbi-bird 2." Brains suddenly called out to them.

"Thunderbird 2 to Thunderbird 5. What's the situation Brains?" Virgil responded as he walked back to the main entrance of Thunderbird 2.

"You ha-have 25 minutes left be-before the volcano erupt a-aga- soon." Brains told them. "You need to-to hu-hurry."

"FAB. Keep us informed." Virgil replied and looked at John. "John we have 15 minutes left. We need to hurry up." He told his older brother. John nodded and pointed towards a distance a few feet away from them.

"Alan's coming up with the last group now."

True to his words, Virgil could see Alan bringing up ten people with him and he was moving as fast as he can. Virgil smiled, feeling relieved that the last group was finally here.

Virgil hated this particular rescue. It was not that he blamed the mine workers for getting themselves involved in this situation but it was because time was not on their side. First of all they had a lot of people to rescue, then they had to stop the flames from spreading towards the nearest village. And because of the horrible explosion caused by the volcano eruption at the mine there were a lot of people who sustained horrible injuries which made the whole rescuing a lot harder and time consuming. Plus, they had to do all of this in under 4 hours and now they only have 25 minutes left before the next eruption occurs. It was worrying and nerve-wrecking.

"Great work Alan." John said to Alan as they helped the last group of mine workers to step into Thunderbird 2.

"Thanks John." Alan smiled tiredly. John felt sympathetic for his youngest brother. Alan had been running around nonstop evacuating people. When they first arrived, He and Gordon had their hands full with controlling the flames and removing all the debris that trapped the workers with the mole. Alan on the other hand was task with finding the victims and evacuating them all by himself after they cleared the way one by one because Virgil had to treat many horrible injuries so he couldn't help Alan like he did earlier when they arrived. Meanwhile, Scott was preoccupied with the task of removing anything explosives from the area to avoid another explosion and at the same time reporting to Base and Thunderbird 5.

"I still don't understand why they would wanna build a freaking mine near a volcano site." Alan complained once they got all the last workers in Thunderbird 2. "Especially when this particular volcano is an active one that happens to erupt a few times in a day once activated."

"It's all for the money little bro." Alan turned around and saw Gordon walking towards them. His uniform were a mess.

"Yeah. I heard there's a lot of valuable things inside." Virgil agreed as he reached out for the hatch.

"Valuable or not. I still think it's stupid." Alan mumbled. Virgil, John and Gordon laughed.

"Money comes from hard work and sacrifice after all Alan. Even if it sounds ridiculous." John told Alan as he ruffled his hair.

"Virgil, we need to go now. We have no time left to waste." Scott suddenly called out from Virgil's watch gaining their attention.

"FAB. Sorry. Right behind you Scott." Virgil replied and looked at the rest of this brothers. "We'll be right back guys. Don't go wandering off okay?"

"Yeah like there's anything fun to do around here." Gordon rolled his eyes. "Get going before Scott kills you already."

"Yeah yeah. Just. Stay safe okay?" Virgil shrugged and closed the hatch.

TBTBTBTBTBTB

Thankfully, the hospital workers were all ready and set so by the time they got there, it only took them about 10 minutes to clear the mine workers from the Thunderbirds and another 5 minutes to reach the danger zone again. However, it was still worrying because they now have less than 2 minutes left to get John, Gordon and Alan out of the mine.

"Hurry up guys!" Scott yelled from his watch. "There's not much time left!" He could feel his throat tightened and the pounding inside his head. He was so anxious that they were not going make it.

"We're in!" John told both Scott and Virgil. "Take off now!"

"FAB." Scott replied, feeling a little relieved that his younger brothers were no longer on the ground but safe inside Thunderbird 2.

"You ha-ve 20 se-seconds le..ft. Get-get out of-of..the-re g-guys." Brains cried out urgently.

Virgil nervously lifted his baby up into the sky. He could feel his adrenaline ran up high and he could hear the beating of his heart. Just as he thought that they were finally clear, the volcano burst so loud they could feel the vigorous vibrations that shook the craft. Thunderbird 2 was suddenly spinning out of control and Virgil could feel that something had hit them from the right side.

"Oh my god. Oh my god." Virgil mumbled incoherently as he tried to control his 'Bird'. John came into the cockpit and immediately sat on the co-pilot seat to help him.

"What do we do Johnny what do we do?!" Virgil was panicking. This was a first for him. Thunderbird 2 had never spun of control like this before. He could hear Scott yelling orders from his watch but he was too focus on making sure that they don't crash to listen.

"Calm down Virge." John told his younger brother. "We're gonna lift Thunderbird 2 up and then rotate the other way to try and stop the spinning okay?" Virgil nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat.

TBTBTBTBTBTB

"Sit down and strap yourself dude!" Gordon reached out and pulled Alan up. The vigorous shaking and spinning had made them both flown across the area and fell on to the ground with a loud thud.

"I was trying too!" Alan snorted and grabbed a hold of the wall. With the help of each other, they managed to sit down and strapped themselves in. At least, Alan thought they both did.

"Where are you going?!" Alan questioned angrily. Gordon had made sure that he was securely strapped into the seat but as soon as he did, his older brother started to walk away.

"Stay here Al, I'm gonna go help John and Virgil." Gordon told him.

"You're leaving me here? No way I'm gonna help too!" Alan began to remove his strap but Gordon stopped him almost instantly.

"Don't be stubborn Al. You need to stay here and be safe." Gordon said sternly.

"I'm not a kid that needs protection!" Alan protested. "I'm already eighteen for crying out loud."

"Who said you were?" Gordon rolled his eyes. "I just need you to stay here and be safe. "

"How does that even make any sense?" Alan raised his eyebrow exasperatedly. He was no longer a kid but he still couldn't help them? Where's the logic in that?

"STAY." Gordon repeated himself without even bugging. Seeing the look in Gordon's eyes Alan knew it was useless to argue. Gordon was not as bad and as protective as his other older brothers because of their close relationship and age but there are times when Alan knew that he should listen and never argue with Gordon. It was better that way. A serious Gordon was better to be left alone.

"Fine." Alan finally said. Gordon nodded and walked away.

TBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan opened his eyes as he felt an excruciating pain on his left shoulder. He groaned as he tried to sooth himself down. He felt his head throbbed as he looked around his surroundings. He was no longer sitting upright but was leaning to his left side. He could see the lights flickering and how messed the area looked. It was then he realized that they had crashed.

"Gordon! John! Virgil!" He called out for his brothers. When he received no respond, he felt his conscious coming back to him instantly. He was no longer groggy. His brothers need him. They must be seriously injured. That was the only explanation as to why they didn't respond him. Feeling his worries intensified. Alan quickly used his right hand and unstrapped himself from his seat.

It was hard for him to walk through the space since the craft was on her left side and everything was either toppled or broken. But he made it through and soon he entered the cockpit to where his brothers were.

Alan felt his heart stopped briefly when he saw his brothers. His eyes widened with horror and all of a sudden he found it hard to breathe. Virgil was unconscious. There were blood across his forehead and Alan knew that he had hit his head across the control panel. His shoulders also looked weird and out of place. John was almost the same. Both of his leg were broken and trapped underneath the broken control panel to his side. Gordon on the other hand was laying on the floor. He had a massive bruise on his head his left leg was broken.

"John? Virge? Gords? Hey wake up. Guys wake up." He tried to wake them up but no avail. He started to panic a little. If they somehow suffered a concussion, with of important for them to stay awake. And he wasn't sure how bad their concussions were which made the whole situation even more stressful.

For a moment Alan just stood there after checking his brothers, unsure of what to do. But he soon calmed himself down and begin to help free his brothers from their seat. It was taking a long time for him to do so. Considering the fact that his left shoulder was killing him but after some time he managed to put John and Virgil side by side with Gordon on the floor with the backs leaning on the wall. Alan was about to contact Base and Scott when he heard a small groan.

"Uh." To his relief, Gordon chose that moment to come around.

"Hey. Are you okay Gordon?" Alan asked his brother. Gordon blinked his eyes and looked at Alan.

"Wha-what happened? My head's killing me." Gordon groaned in pain.

"We crashed. You hit your head." Alan told him. "Do you need something for the pain?" He then asked.

"Yeah that be great." Gordon nodded but soon regretted his actions as pain shoot up instantly inside his head. "Te-tell Virge to..to give..give me so-me..."

"Um Virgil is not exactly available right now." Alan carefully informed his closest brother. At Alan's remarks Gordon finally began to take interest in his surroundings. He then finally saw the unconscious John and Virgil next to him and jolted upwards.

"Whoah whoah relax Gordy you're hurt." Alan gently pushed Gordon back.

"They're okay. I think." Alan tried to explain. "We're okay. We'll be okay." He added. Gordon turned his head at Alan and began scanning him up and down.

"Are you okay Al?" He asked.

"You should worry about yourself." Alan chuckled. "You're worst off than me."

"Where are you hurt?" Gordon ignored Alan's shrug and asked.

"I'm fine Gordon." Alan assured his brother.

"Alan-"

"Gords I need you to watch over John and Virgil for a bit okay?" Alan cut Gordon off and said. "I'm gonna contact Base and Scott because I don't know why he hasn't contact any of us which is unlike him and then I'm gonna go to the med-bay and bring a few things to help you, John and Virgil with you injuries okay? Oh and I need you stay awake and if John and Virgil are awake make sure they stay that way alright?" Alan didn't give Gordon a chance to argue as he left the cockpit soon after.

TBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan made a last minute detour towards the hatch and tried to open it. He wanted to assess where they were and what kind of danger they are facing. He still wasn't able to contact Scott but he was able to contact Brains and Base. To say his father was worried was an understatement. As soon as he heard from Alan, he had urged that Alan stay put as he would send help as soon as possible from many of his colleague or he himself would get to them. Whatever was fast.

Alan took in his surroundings. They were still in the desert but thankfully they were quite far from the mine and volcano. Once again, Alan was amazed by Virgil's skills as a pilot despite the situation, he had managed to move them away from the danger zone. However, they were still out of danger yet. Alan could see the crusts that had formed on the ground from the lava and he knew they were still hot to walk on. They were still not far enough after all from the lava flow. Alan then quickly assessed Thunderbird 2. Her right wing were damaged, probably being hit by the debris when the volcano erupted. Her left wing was also bad as they tilted to the left. Alan took off his gloves as he suddenly felt extremely hot. It was then he realized how sweaty he was and that their air conditioning system was off. It was not that big of a deal but considering the fact that they were right in the middle of a hot climatic desert that had just suffered a volcanic eruption (the hot crusts only worsen their situation), and that his brothers were injured, it was a disturbing news. They will have lack of oxygen soon. To make matters worst, they had been working in a hot climate all day that Alan was well aware that it will soon take a toll on their body.

Alan quickly walk back inside and grabbed everything he needed from the med-bay. The first thing he got to do was to make sure that his brothers were okay. As soon as he walked back into the cockpit he could see that both Virgil and John were awake. He let out a breathe he didn't know he was holding.

"Looks who's finally decides to join us." Alan said and he dropped down in front of them.

"Fu-nny." Virgil tried to say. Alan could see that his middle brother was in so much pain. He quickly began to work.

"What happened?" John asked as he tried not to move his legs too much.

"We crashed." Alan said the same thing he said to Gordon. His hands was busy assessing Virgil's forehead. "I'm guessing you guys managed to hover Thunderbird 2 long enough for the lava to harden before crashing. We're surrounded by crusts thou."

"It's like a stove in here." Gordon mumbled. His throat felt so dry that he let out a cough.

"The air conditioning system's busted." Alan said as an explanation and shoved a water bottle in Gordon's hands. "Hold still Virge. I need to clean you up."

"I'm try-ing to but-but my shoulder's killing me.." Virgil grimaced. "This feels like shit..."

"Don't let dad hear you say that Virge or your ass is dead." Gordon chuckled and drank the entire bottle, feeling his throat sooth with relief.

"Sa-me goes for you...id-idiot..." Virgil shot back with a chuckle. Alan just rolled his eyes at the ridiculous of the situation.

"Virgil, I need to put your shoulder back in place again." Alan told the older man after he had finished bandaging Virgil's forehead. Thankfully, his brother was only suffering from a mild concussion. "Hold still okay. On the count of three."

"Wait wait wait a minute!" Virgil cried out in panic. "Are you sure you can do this? Can't John or Gordon do it?" Alan sworn if Virgil wasn't hurt, he would beat the crap out of him.

"No. Because John's broke both his legs and Gordon broke one of his legs and he also hit hit head." Alan tried to say calmly. "And Yes. I can do this in case you forgot I'm also a very capable member of this organization despite being the youngest. I've received basic training as much as you guys have. Now will you just shut the hell up and let me do this or do you have something more to say?" He then smiled the sweetest smile he could possibly give his brother.

Virgil was taken by surprise but he didn't dare say another word. Meanwhile, Gordon and John laughed.

"You deserved that one Virgil." John said and leaned against the wall more comfortably. His legs were killing him but he was just have to wait his turn until Alan was done with Virgil. He felt a little guilty that it was Alan who had to take care of them all when he was the big brother here.

"Hey, where's Scott?" John asked as Virgil let out a piercing scream as Alan put his shoulder back into place. At the same time, Alan tried his hardest not to yelped out in pain as his shoulder throbbed. He was going to have to access his right after he was done with his brothers.

"Don't know. That's the problem. I've been trying to reach him since forever." Alan answered as he put Virgil in a sling. "Don't worry thou, I've send help and dad will be here soon with.. well I don't know who but he said he'd bring some help."

Alan moved over to John and began to put cast on both his legs, gently. John yelped in pain.

"Sorry Johnny." Alan apologized.

"It's okay." John reassured. "I can handle it."

Alan nodded gratefully. "I will contact Scott again once I'm done here. Come on Gordy lets put you in a cast."

"Oh shit." Gordon hissed as Alan placed the cast on his left leg "This sucks."

"Tell me about it." John agreed, fully understood how Gordon felt. Even twice worse.

"I don't think you hit your head too bad. It's just a bump." Alan told Gordon. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"My left side is killing me." Gordon thought it was easier of they helped Alan by being honest with him and answered truthfully.

"I think you bruised your ribs." Alan uttered sympathetically. "You did have a nasty fall I'm assuming."

"I did." Gordon nodded. Suddenly, they could hear Virgil sucked in a deep breath.

"I-I think I'm gonna be sick." As soon as the words come out of him, Virgil vomited as over the floor to his left.

"Oh my goodness." John said in disbelief. Alan quickly moved next to Virgil and gently pat his back.

"It's okay Virge. Let it all out." It was normal for concussion to cause nausea so Alan wasn't too surprise.

"The smell. I think I'm gonna be sick." Gordon complained and Alan shot him a glare that made him shut his mouth.

"Are you okay Virgil?" Alan asked once Virgil had stopped wrenching.

"My head's killing me. I'm sorry about this Al." Virgil replied tiredly.

"Don't worry about it." Alan assured him.

Alan soon proceeded in cleaning Virgil's mess on the floor. He then handed over each of his brothers a water bottle and painkillers to help them with the pain. Alan grabbed a few pillows from the med-bay and placed them under Gordon's leg as well as John's He also made Virgil laid down on one of the pillows he grabbed and set the extra on the side in case his brothers needed them. He couldn't put them in the med-bay because it was mostly damaged by the crash and there were things broken everywhere so they will just have to settle for the floor. After that, Alan placed layers and layers of cooling blanket on top of each of his brothers to help with the heat and maintain their body temperature. He also placed a few oxygen tanks next to his brothers in case they ran out of oxygen. Once he was done with everything he stepped outside the cockpit to try and contact Scott once again.

"Scott. Come in Scott." Alan called out to his watch.

"Scott!" He tried again.

"Dammit." He cursed under his breath.

"Thunderbird 2 to Thunderbird 5." Alan waited for a few moments until Brains voice can be heard. "Brains I need you to locate Thunderbird 1 for me."

"Thun-thunderbird 1 i-is about one o'clock fr-from your lo-lo-position. 700 meters a-away." Brains told him.

"FAB Brains. Thank you." Alan tapped his watch again and called his father.

"Dad, I'm going over to Thunderbird 1 to check on Scott. What's your ETA?"

"I'm about 2 hours away Alan. I'm moving as fast as I can." His father replied. "Alan be careful okay?" He added.

"Take your time dad. I'll make sure everything's okay here. And I'll be careful. I promise. Alan out."

Alan shut his watch and proceeded to the where his brothers were. He had his heat protective boot on so that it won't be too hot walking on the ground. After making sure they were okay and brushing off their concerns as well as placing lots and lots of wattle bottle around them to ensure they stay hydrated, he left Thunderbird 2 in search of his eldest brother Scott.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan entered Thunderbird 1 carefully. There seemed to be nothing wrong with her. In fact, she was perfectly landed on the ground which worried Alan as to where his brother might be since his 'Bird' seemed alright.

Alan entered the cockpit of Thunderbird 1 and began looking around. He found the pilot's seat empty so he proceeded to check on the other part of the craft. To his horror, he found his eldest brother sprawled across the floor with blood on his head. Alan quickly ran towards Scott and assessed him.

"Scot! Scott can you hear me?!" Alan tried to wake him up.

"Scott wake up!"

Scott let out a small grunt and Alan felt his heart beating again.

"A..lan...? Wha-?" Scott tried to asked as Alan helped him up.

"Are you okay Scott? Are you hurt anywhere other than your head?" Alan began to clean Scott's bloodied head with the med-kid he brought along just in case something like this happen.

"The..erup..eruption.." Scott tried to say as memories flooded back into him. "Oh god where are the others? Are they okay?" Scott was starting to panic.

"Hold steady Scott." Alan gently pushed his brother down. "They're all fine. Injured. But fine. Dad's coming for us soon." He explained.

"How'd you get hurt Scott?"

"Once I landed Thunderbird 1 I tried to contact you guys but the ground shook and I fell and hit my head on that metal on the wall right there." Alan nodded as he bandaged Scott's head.

"I'm glad you're alright. You had me worried when I couldn't contact you."

"Are you hurt anywhere Alan?" Scott scanned his youngest brother.

"I'm fine. You're the fifth person to asked me that. You guys are far off worse than me. Can you stand up?"

"Yeah. Just give me a sec." Scott stood up slowly and Alan helped him to seat on the pilot's chair.

"Here." Alan handed Scott a water bottle. Drink up. The temperature's pretty high here. You need to stay hydrated."

"Thanks." Scott nodded and grabbed the water bottle.

"So...you think you're alright now?" Alan asked carefully.

"Yeah I think so...I didn't think I hit...my head that hard. Why?" Scott took a sip and immediately felt refreshed.

"Well. Here's the situation. Thunderbird 2 is pretty much busted right now and dad will be here in 2 hours which is quite a long a time considering the fact that it is a very bad idea to stay under this temperature for too long when we have injured people around." Alan stopped to take a deep breath. "And since Thunderbird 1 is pretty much okay we can get back home with it so I will need your help to transfer John, Gordon and Virgil from Thunderbird 2 to Thunderbird 1." He continued. "I can't do it alone since John and Gordon can't walk and Virgil is far worse."

"Oh and don't worry about Thunderbird 2 thou, I'm sure dad can do something about that once he got here." Scott didn't say anything at all except nodded. Alan frowned.

"Scott?" Alan called. He could clearly see that something was wrong with his eldest brother and he was trying to hide it from him. He eveb had his eyes close.

"Hey, Scotty what's wrong?" Alan found himself worried.

"It's...no-thing...I'm fine..." Alan refused to believe his eldest brother and began scanning his body. He noticed the way Scott was sitting and knew immediately that something was wrong with his ribs. Alan pushed away Scott's protesting hands and unbuttoned his uniform. Just like what he suspected, Scott had bruise his ribs. There was a huge black bruise on the left side of his chest and back.

"Why wouldn't you tell me this Scott?" Alan shot his eldest brother an angry look.

"Be-because...I'm.. I'm fine..." Scott answered pathetically.

"Fine my ass." Alan snapped and shove a few painkillers into Scott's hands. "I want you to take them now."

"Alan. I told you-"

"NOW SCOTT!" Scott looked at Alan. His youngest brother was furious that he was shaking and trying to his hardest to calm himself down. He had never seen Alan so agitated before it frightened him a little. Thou he would never admit that to anyone especially Alan.

Scott put the pills into his mouth and swallowed them with the water Alan gave to him earlier. Satisfied and without saying a word, Alan grabbed a hold of Scott and placed him on the co-pilot's seat before walking away. Alan was so silent that Scott didn't dare to protest and waited quietly on the seat. After a few moment, Alan returned with a few cooling blankets and placed them on top of Scott. He then placed more water bottle near the co-pilot's water holders for Scott to drink. Once he was done, he walked towards Thunderbird 1's pilot seat and began to take off.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan landed Thunderbird 1 perfectly, just next to Thunderbird 2. Without a word to Scott, he left the cockpit and out into the desert. On the way up to Thunderbird 2 Alan contacted his father to inform him of the change in plan. His father also provided him that Brains had set Thunderbird 5 on auto and Tintin had gone to pick him up. Since Virgil was also injured, Brains was the only other capable one to treat his brother once they get back to Base.

Alan walked into Thunderbird 2 carrying two hoverboards. He was thankful that Brains had thought of this. The hoverboard will make it easier for Alan to move his brothers to Thunderbird 1. The hoverboard is simply a stretcher with the capabilities to hover and float in the air for a certain amount of time.

"Alan. Is Scott okay?" John asked him as soon as he entered the area. Alan did not say anything in reply. He simply placed the hoverboard on the floor and checked over Virgil, who was trying his hardest to stay awake. Using all the strength he had left, Alan lifted Virgil off the floor as gently as he can and placed him on top of the hoverboard. However, he couldn't help but yelped in pain as he did so. His shoulder hurt so...bad.

"Alan, are you okay?" Both Gordon and John asked worriedly.

Alan was still silent as he turned the hoverboard on. After that, he began to transfer Virgil to Thunderbird 1 with a panic and worried looking Scott greeting them.

Alan returned a while later and proceeded to carry John onto the other hoverboard.

"Wait Al. I can roll myself over to get on." John stopped his brother. Alan nodded and placed the hoverboard nearer so that it would be easier for John to roll.

"Alan, I know you're hurt." Leave it to John to both state and ask. Alan simply shrugged.

"I sprained my left shoulder."

"Alan..why didn't you say something?" John questioned as he felt the hoverboard lift into the air.

"BECAUSE." Alan felt his heart beat fast and his emotions rilling up. It was like John's question was the trigger to the pend up emotions he was trying so hard to ignore. "YOU GUYS ARE FAR OFF WORSE THAN ME HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU THAT?! AND BEFORE YOU GAVE ME THAT LOOK AND ANY LECTURERS I SAY YOU BETTER SHUT YOUR MOUTH UP UNTIL I'M DONE TRANSFERRING ALL OF YOU TO THUNDERBIRD 1 AND GET YOU BACK TO BASE WHERE BRAINS CAN TREAT YOU. HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

Alan was so angry he sank into the wall and dropped to the floor. He was not angry at his brothers for always putting his life in priority to theirs. He had always understood their protectiveness over him. He understood that he was the youngest so they tend to worry about him. But he was angry at the fact that they did not trust him with this whole situation. First Gordon refused to let him help. Then Virgil didn't trust h enough to fix hos shoulders and Scott lied to him about his injuries because he wanted to be the big brother that would save the day instead of Alan. And John? John was angry at the fact that he didn't bother to mention about his shoulders because he was too busy worrying about their injuries to care about his that were far more dangerous and needed immediate treatment?! They couldn't even wall for crying out loud! He was so pissed off he wanted to hit John. He wanted to hit John and the rest of his brothers. He wanted to hit them.

On the other hand, both John and Gordon was so shocked at Alan's outburst they went speechless.

"Al..." Gordon tried.

"Lets just get to Thunderbird 1 okay?" Alan breathe in and stood up slowly.

"Come on John." He then said.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTB

It took them about one hour and a half to reach Tracy Island and soon all of his brothers were transferred into the infirmary where Brains immediately treated them. The ride to the island had been quiet and awkward. None of them dared to say anything to Alan. Which was a first. They had never seen their youngest family member like that...they didn't know what to do or what to say. Correctly, they didn't know the right thing to do or say. It took their father another 3 hours to reach Tracy Island with Tracy One and Thunderbird 2. He had received help from a good friend of his who knew about their secrets and happened to be the pilot of a large rescue craft. Even though the craft wasn't as fast as the Thunderbirds, it managed to helped them bring back Thunderbird 2 back home.

By the time Jeff Tracy entered the infirmary, John, Scott, Virgil and Gordon had all been treated and was resting comfortably on their respective beds.

"Boys. How are you feeling?" Jeff smiled with relieved at seeing his sons wide awake except for Virgil, who had fallen asleep due to the drugs Brains gave him. He had been worried sick once he received the call from Alan. He had been in a meeting in mainland which was why he was unable to contact them at all times during the rescue with Tintin helping him at the commander's table and Brains up in Thunderbird 5. He literally dropped everything and raced to Tracy One as soon as he heard the trouble they were in and contacted his friend who also worked in the rescue business.

"Hey dad." Scott smiled at his father. "We're doing okay. Brains certainly worked his magic on us."

"I can see that. I'm glad you boys are okay. I've been worried sick." Jeff nodded then looked around. "Where's Alan?"

Scott, John and Gordon all frowned at this.

"He said he was going to take a shower." John was the want to speak up. "Brains wanted to check him over because I he sprained his left shoulder but he told Brains to make sure thay we were okay first especially Virgil. And he said that he wanted to wait for you."

"Dad, can you please check on him?" Gordon finally said. Jeff could see how worried his second youngest son looked. "He was really mad at us earlier and he won't talk to us. And I can't leave the infirmary, Brains won't let me." He complained. "I need to make sure he's okay."

"Alright. Alright. Calm down boys." Jeff didn't want his sons to feel stressed out considering how they needed to rest. "I'll go talk to him and make sure he gets check over by Brains alright?"

TBTBTBTBTBTBTB

"Alan?" Jeff knocked on his youngest son's door and entered. His eyes wandered around until he found Alan standing over his balcony. He was still wearing his uniform and Jeff frowned.

"Hey Kiddo. What are you up to?" Jeff asked as he stood next to Alan, studying him. He could see that Alan looked tired and pale. His eyes were bloodshot red and his uniform was ripped and torn.

"Alan?" Jeff called again when he realized that Alan didn't seemed to be aware of his presence. "Hey." Jeff touched Alan's arm and was greeted with a surprise.

"You're burning up Alan." Jeff told Alan with an even deeper frown. "Come on. Lets get you to the infirmary alright? You did good today. I'm so proud of you."

Alan finally realized his father's presence and turned his head to looked at the old man.

"Dad..."

"Hey Kiddo. I'm here." Jeff smiled warmly.

Alan reached forward and grabbed his father's hand.

"I'm so glad you're here..." Alan told Jeff before falling down onto his knees. Jeff was so shocked he almost didn't grab his son as he fell.

"Alan?! What's wrong?!" Jeff asked worriedly as Alan went limped in his arms.

"Nothing's wrong. You're here now." Alan mumbled softly before losing to his fight with consciousness.

"ALAN!"

"Brains! I need you in the infirmary now! Alan's fainted!" Jeff yelled into his watch and lifted Alan up.

TBTBTBTTBTBTB


	2. Chapter 2

Jeff hurried his steps and dashed towards the infirmary with Alan secured tightly in his arms. He could feel the heat coming off his youngest son's body and he felt his heart beat stopped. Alan was sick. He was really sick and he needed treatment right away.

"Hold on Alan. Hold on. I've got you."

Jeff bursted into the infirmary so loud that Scott, John and Gordon jolted upwards in surprise to see what the commotion was about. They saw their father carrying unconscious Alan and walked towards one of the empty beds at the corner of the room. Their hearts immediately froze.

"Alan?" Scott got off his bed despite the excruciating pain he felt on his ribs and went over to Alan's bed.

"What's wrong with him? Dad, what's wrong with Alan?!" Scott demanded as he grabbed a hold of Alan's hand. "He's burning!"

"He fainted when I found him." Jeff only said as he turned on his watch to contact Brains again. To his relief, Brains walked into the infirmary right at that moment.

"Brains. Thank God. It's Alan." Jeff's voice was desperate as he pulled Brains over to check on Alan. Behind him, he could hear a loud thud on the floor. He turned around and saw Gordon on the floor. He had tried to walk to Alan's bed.

"Gordon!" Jeff cried out and rushed over to his second youngest son's side. "What do you think you're doing? You can't walk yet!"

"I need to see him. Dad, I need to see Alan. Let me see him. Please." Gordon mumbled almost incoherently as he looked at Alan on the bed. His eyes never leaving his younger brother.

"Gordon you're injured. You need to rest." Jeff disagreed as he helped Gordon to his feet and pushed him gently back onto his bed.

"But Alan-" Gordon tried to protest.

"Will be fine. You won't do him any good right now except to rest and wait patiently while Brains treat him. Which is why you need to be a good brother and a good son and stay here okay. I promise you I'll make sure Alan's alright."

"But. What's wrong with him?" Gordon asked with such a small voice it broke Jeff's heart. Gordon was beyond worried. He knew he should have forced Brains to check on Alan without waiting for his father to return. He regretted for not being alert and paying attention to his younger brother. Alan was obviously in as much pain as they were.

"Brains checking him over now so calm down okay? It's gonna be alright." Jeff hugged Gordon and patted his back gently. He knew why Gordon was behaving this way. Alan and Gordon had always been like a magnet since they were young. Where ever Gordon was, Alan was there. And where ever Alan was, Gordon was there. Being the younger brothers had made them close with each other. Alan was Gordon's best friend and Vice versa. They did everything together as far as Jeff could remember. Alan had been to every one of Gordon's swimming competition and Gordon had been to every one of Alan's racing competition. There were each other's rock and Jeff understood how seeing Alan like this, frightened Gordon. Alan had been the same when Gordon was injured during his hydrofoil accident.

"It's alright son. I promise you okay?" Jeff reassured. "John. Talk to him okay? I need to see how Alan's doing." Jeff looked at his second oldest son who looked just as worried as the rest of them but was even more calm and compose than them.

"Don't worry dad. I got him." John smiled reassuringly. Jeff nodded. "Thanks John."

Jeff walked back to Alan's bed and he could see that Brains had set up an IV over Alan as well as cooling pads and blankets over his body.

"He's extre-mely de-dehydrated and he's su-suffering fro-from heat stro-kes." Brains explained to Jeff thou he was sure all the occupants inside the room was listening. "But I-I'll need to-to run mo-re te-te examination." Jeff nodded appreciatively as he stood on Alan's side.

"Have a look at his left shoulder Brains." John suddenly said. "I think he said he sprained them or something."

'O-o..o-very well." Brains nodded and began to run more test on Alan.

TBTBTBTBTBTB

Jeff ran his hands through Alan's hair as he slept. Thankfully, there was nothing major except for dehydration, heat strokes and a fractured shoulder. Brains tests had confirmed this. However, it did took Brain quite some time to maintain Alan's temperature from raising any further. His youngest son now require a lot of rest and duty free for a couple weeks. Looking at Alan's bandaged shoulder Jeff couldn't believe how Alan with held the pain and carried all of his brothers from Thunderbird 2 to Thunderbird 1. His youngest son also took care of his older brothers and ensure their health was far from deterring. Brains had informed him that despite the injuries, his other sons was well hydrated and well cooled when they arrived at the infirmary. They did not suffer from any heat strokes. Jeff was so proud of Alan.

"How is he?" Scott suddenly asked, bringing Jeff back from his thoughts. He was surprised to see Scott awake after only one and a half hour of sleep. After treating Alan, Brains have forced his other sons to sleep and gave them painkillers to ensure that it happened. Their injuries required enough rest to heal and Brains knew that if he didn't give them any, they would stay awake until Alan woke up.

"Scott. Aren't you supposed to sleep?" Jeff said with a chuckle, looking over his eldest son.

"Well I did...I don't think that drug work on me that much." Scott shrugged. "How's Alan dad?" He asked again.

"Alan's fine. He's not awake yet but he's out of danger like Brains said." Jeff smiled knowing what a smother-hen (according to his other sons) Scott can be.

Suddenly there was a grunt from the other side of the room. Both Jeff and Scott looked over and they could Virgil starting to come around. Jeff looked over at Alan one more time before walking to Virgil's bed.

"Hey son. How are you feeling?" Jeff asked with a smile as he said on the chair next to Virgil's bed.

"Awful." Virgil found his voice horse and weird. Jeff handed him a glass of water.

"Thanks dad. Where am I?" Virgil took a sip and then asked.

"You're in the infirmary. You've been unconscious for about 5 hours since you got back. Do you remember what happened?"

"The eruption..." Virgil mumbled with a groan as he felt his head throb. He never liked concussions. They're the worst kind of pain you could ever suffer from because you aren't able to think and comprehend things fast enough. "How's everyone else?" He tried to look at his surroundings.

"They're all fine." Jeff assured his middle son. "Scott's awake and the rest are asleep."

"Hey there Virge." Scott smiled up at his younger brother. "Tough day huh?" He added with a smudge look on his face. Virgil almost rolled his eyes but remembered the pain he was suffering from and stopped himself.

"To sum it up. I hate this day." Virgil told Scott who laughed out loud before wincing because his ribs throbbed. "Lets not do anymore rescues near a volcanic area shall we?" Virgil added.

"Easy son." Jeff warned Scott but there was a light grin on his face. "I know you're happy to see Virgil awake but lets not get too far okay?"

At that moment, both John and Gordon woke up.

"What's with all the commotion?" John rubbed his eyes and scanned the area. Scott's laughter, he had guessed because he would recognized the hurricane sound anywhere- had woken him up.

"Hey John. How are you feeling?" Virgil asked. John immediately turned his head and looked at his younger brother.

"Virge! You're awake!"

"Yes I am." Virgil grinned and looked at Gordon who seemed awfully quiet and was staring at...Scott..or something behind him...? "Hey Gordy-locks how are you feeling?" Virgil asked the younger and received a snort from both John and Scott.

"Really Virge, Godry-locks? That's soooo lame. Right John?" Scott teased playfully while John nodded. Virgil was about protest but was cut off by Gordon.

"Is Alan awake yet dad?"

Jeff looked at his second youngest with a knowing smile. "Not yet. But don't worry. He's out of danger okay?"

"I wanna see him. Take me to him dad." Gordon pleaded.

"Wait what?" Virgil was confused. "Alan? What's wrong with Alan?" He looked at Scott for explanation.

"Alan fainted when dad got home." Scott said carefully, afraid of what Virgil's reaction might be.

"He wha-" Virgil felt his heart froze. All joke and cheerfulness gone. "Why? What's wrong with him? Will he be okay? I need to check and make sure he's okay!" Virgil tried to get up but Jeff quickly pushed him back on to his bed.

"Calm down son. Alan's fine. He's just dehydrated and suffering from heat strokes." He purposely left the fractured shoulder part knowing how Virgil had this medical complex of making sure he was the one to treat his brothers especially the younger two.

"Are you? Don't we need to run more tests thou?" Virgil argued but laid back down on his pillow. He was getting a little dizzy.

"Brains has done the best that he could Virgil so don't worry okay?"

"Okay. But would please tell me what happened and what's going on? He didn't look that sick before."

"Me either. " John agreed from his bed. "He didn't look so...sick before...I mean..we could have notice...you know...so what happened?"

Jeff sighed and sat on the chair once again. He then looked at each and one of his boys.

"That's probably because, he didn't have time to look...well, sick." He began and was immediately responded by confused looks from his four sons.

"What do you mean dad?" Scott was the one to asked.

"Before Alan fainted." Jeff tried to explain. "I asked him what was wrong and his answer was 'nothing is wrong. You're here now'. My guess is that, Alan had been running on adrenaline for the sake of making sure that his brothers...you boys were okay. He didn't have time to worry about himself and fall down to his exhaustion because he was the only one that was able to walk around and do something about the situation. His worries and your needs kept him going and he held on for as long as possible. He was the only capable one to make sure that you guys were okay and to make sure your body temperature remained normal and make sure your injuries won't get any worse. He couldn't let go until you boys are okay. He didn't let go until... " Jeff stopped for a moment to breathe.

"Until what?" Virgil asked this time.

"Until I was home." Jeff continued. "Until I was home." He repeated. "Now that I was home, he knew that I would somehow make sure that you boys are okay. Since I was home he knew that I would take charge of everything. Since I was home he knew that he could finally let go and let me take care of you boys. I was home and I was there to continue the worries and he could finally stop worrying and let go." Jeff finished and looked at each of them. He could see that they had tears in their eyes and he smiled.

"You've got an amazing brother right there." Jeff told them proudly. They all nodded softly and looked at the unconscious body that of their baby brother.

"Oh Allie." Scott uttered quietly.

TBTBTBTBTBTB


	3. Chapter 3

Gordon sat next to Alan's bed quietly. He was waiting for Alan to wake up. Alan had been asleep for almost two days and Brains said that was normal because Alan's body was extremely worn out from the heat stroke. Still, Gordon couldn't help but feel worried and helpless at the whole situation. What his father had said last night made his heart ache even more. He wished that he could protect Alan just like how Alan protected him and his other brothers.

"Gordon." Virgil called him. Virgil was the only one beside Alan that remained in the infirmary but he was free to leave tomorrow morning. The rest of them was released yesterday.

"Yeah?" Gordon answered without turning around.

"You okay?" Virgil got out of his bed and walked towards Alan's bed.

"I don't know." Gordon responded honestly. "I just want him to wake up you know?"

"I know." Virgil pulled a chair nearby and sat next to Gordon. "Me too."

It was as if God had answered their prayer as Alan suddenly groaned. Gordon immediately reached for Alan's hand while Virgil stood up.

"Al?" Gordon called out softly but just enough to be heard by Alan.

"Uh." Alan opened his eyes slowly. His eyes soon found Gordon's.

"Gordy..." Alan mumbled. Gordon smiled widely. He was so full of relief that he didn't realized his tightened hold on Alan.

"Hey there kiddo. Glad you could join us."

"You're hurting my hand Gords." Alan whined.

"Oops sorry about that." Gordon chuckled and released his hold a bit but never let go of Alan's hand.

"How are you feeling Sprout?" Virgil asked and began scanning his brother. He couldn't help it. The medic in him just won over as soon as Alan was awake.

"Mfine." Alan replied tiredly.

"You had us worried. But it's okay now. Now that you're awake. Everything is alright." Virgil told Alan with a warm smile.

"Where's Scott, John and Dad?" Alan asked. "Are they okay? Are you guys okay?"

"We're all okay thanks to you." Gordon replied proudly. "You did good."

"You sure did. We're all so proud of you Sprout." Virgil added. "Go to sleep okay? You looked tired."

"But I just woke up." Alan mumbled but his eyes were fluttering.

"Yes you did and we're so glad but I think you need to rest just a little bit more okay?" Virgil ran his hand through Alan's hair to soothe him. "We'll be here when you wake up."

"Mkay." Alan uttered before falling asleep, too tired to fight it off any longer.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTB

John sat on his wheelchair on the sand while taking shade under a large tree on the beach with a book in his hands. Beside him, was Alan who was wrapped up with a cooling blanket. He was leaning against the tree and dozing off. Even though Alan was almost back to normal Brains and their father said he needed to be extra careful under the sun for a few more days. His skin and body were still healing after all. They had decided to spend some brotherly time together at the beach since International Rescue was on hold because of majority of it's members were injured. John looked ahead and saw Virgil pulling Gordon out of the water angrily. He let out a small laughed. Even with a broken leg Gordon wanted to play near the water. Virgil had let him but told him that he could only take a few dips. It turned out that Gordon got bored quickly and wanted to go deeper.

"Alright time for lunch!" Scott who was busy setting up the paper plates and cups called out.

"Alright Scott!" Virgil helped a reluctant Gordon walked over towards the rest of his brothers.

Scott held out the plates to Gordon and Virgil once they've seated on the matt. He did the same with John before moving over towards Alan.

"Hey Sprout. Wakey wakey." He gently tapped Alan's cheeks.

Alan opened his eyes and yawned.

"Huh? What?"

Scott chuckled and ruffled Alan's hair lovingly. "Time for lunch kiddo."

Alan stretched his arms before sitting upright. Scott gave him his paper plate and started to distribute the sandwich.

"You slept like an elephant dude." Gordon teased as he took a bite out of his sandwich.

"Can't help it. I didn't get enough sleep last night." Alan told him.

"Why didn't you get enough sleep Al?" Virgil asked looking a little bit concerned.

"Don't know. I wasn't that tired because I spend four days doing nothing but sleep I guess. But today, I end up getting tired."

Virgil nodded and took a sip of the orange juice Scott poured him.

"Say Al..." Scott suddenly uttered. Alan looked at his eldest brother and saw him fidgeting around nervously.

"Just spit it out Scott. What's bothering you?" Alan demanded immediately.

"Are you still..you know...mad at us? At me?" Scott's question brought an interest to everybody. They all looked at Alan and anticipated his answer.

"That's right. Are you Alan?" John asked nervously. "You were really upset with me that day. We haven't really talk about it."

In all honesty, Alan had forgotten all about being angry at his brothers but he could see how they needed for him to say that he wasn't.

"Nope. I'm not. Not anymore."

Instantly, Alan saw them relaxed.

"I'm sorry for making you angry Sprout." Scott said followed by John. "I'm sorry I lied to you about my injuries." Scott added.

Alan put down his paper plate and looked at each of his brothers.

"That's not why I was angry." He told them finally.

"It's not?" Scott questioned with a puzzled look on his face.

"Nope." Alan sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I was just upset that you guys didn't trust me."

"What do you mean?" John asked.

"Well...I umm..." Alan sighed again exasperatedly. "I know I'm the youngest and all but I'm still part of this team you know? I went through the same training as you did but you still don't trust me enough with some things. Scott you didn't trust me with your injuries and that I was capable of helping you guys even when I was the only one left. Virge, you didn't trust me with your shoulder. And John well, he got angry because I didn't tell him about my shoulder like he didn't trust me enough to be able to know and tell which is the main priority at the moment. Gordon. Well Gordon I love you and all dude but you didn't let me help when the craft started to spin around I just.. exploded. Plus everything was so stressful. I was so worried about you guys and making sure that you were okay so when John asked me about my injury I lost it. " Alan looked down awkwardly.

"It's just...I want you guys to stop treating me like a kid while were on rescues and lean on me too like you let me lean on you most of the time. I wanted to feel part of the team." Alan signed out loud. "Oh my God this is so stupid lets just forget it okay? I'm not mad anymore so-"

Alan was cut off as he was suddenly hugged by Scott.

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way Alan." Scott apologized whole heartedly.

"We're sorry to Sprout." Virgil reached over for Alan's hand and gripped it tightly.

"We couldn't help it." John ruffled Alan's hair gently. "No matter what you do Al, you'll always gonna be our baby brother and we'll always put you on top of our lives. But...I think we can adjust things a little bit and trust you more when situations like these occur again. We're sorry Alan."

"I'm sorry too." Gordon apologized and grabbed Alan's other hand. Alan felt his heart warmed up at the turned of event that he felt tears welled up inside his eyes.

"Alan. I also want to tell you how much I'm proud you. You protected us and put our health before yours. You've certainly showed another side of you that we never knew." Scott told Alan proudly as he released him. "Thanks for saving our sorry ass Sprout."

Alan chuckled and smiled at his eldest brother.

"Anytime Scott."

"However, you have to promise us something. Even if you had to put us on the priority you still gotta make sure that you are also okay. I don't want you to wait until the last minute before getting treated okay like this time okay?"

"I promise." Alan raised his hand and gave a playful salute. His brothers all laughed at this.

"Sometimes you gotta leave it to the younger ones to save the day huh?" Gordon mumbled with a mouth full of sandwich. Scott, John and Virgil rolled their eyes as they continued their lunch.

'Leave it to the youngest huh?'

They all thought as they looked at Alan who was playfully snatching Gordon's sandwich away. They smiled warmly at the sight and stared out at the birds flying in the sky.

It was a good day.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTB


End file.
